Explaining Greece

The “sirens of war” again erupted in the Middle East on the last day of February, last month, with the coordinated and large-scale US and Israeli strikes against Iran, followed by the latter’s retaliation across the wider region. The repercussions of the latest Mideast war, beyond the actual death and destruction in the immediate area, were immediately felt around the world, i.e. financial markets and energy prices. In this week’s episode of “Explaining Greece”, we again speak with Maria Gavouneli, a professor of International Law at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens and a board member of the Athens-based Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), in an attempt to understand how Greek leadership is dealing with the crisis and how the war affects the country. Standing on the western edge of the now expanded conflict, given its proximity via the eastern Mediterranean with Israel, along with Lebanon and the large island republic of Cyprus, NATO and EU member Greece is closely scrutinizing developments and taking initiatives within its framework of its interests, agreements and alliances. For instance, two Greek  warships and four fighter planes were dispatched to Cyprus, namely, to the internationally recognized part of the island, as one-third of the island remains under Turkish occupation – another variable in the “calculus” of geopolitical realities in the region. Greece and the Greek Cypriot majority on the island share close fraternal ties. The deployment followed foiled attacks by drones or missiles, ostensibly by forces backing Iran, against a British airbase on the divided island. Shipping is also a high priority for Athens, as Greek-owned vessels and companies comprise one of the biggest blocs in the world’s ocean-going fleet, especially the now vulnerable tankers trying to navigate the Strait of Hormuz and other “chokepoints” in the region. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It figures as the most pressing problem facing Greek society today, literally a “double whammy” of a shrinking population intertwined with an increasingly aging one. The demographic crisis – according to others more of a looming catastrophe - threatening 21st Greece isn’t unique, however. Similar ominous population trends plague other western and advanced societies. In this edition of “Explaining Greece”, demography expert Alexandra Tragaki breaks down the numbers of births and deaths in the country; trends since the end of WWII; emigration and migration, and some of the reasons behind this development are discussed. Solutions are requested, yet difficult to define. Tragaki, a noted professor of economic demography at the Harokopio University in Athens, also warns that any implemented policies to overturn demographic decline won’t be immediately felt, even if successful, given the complexities involved with women and couples in the West having less and less babies. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One of the most prominent strategic realignments in the east Mediterranean over recent years has been the burgeoning cooperation between Greece and Israel, which both Jerusalem and Athens now call “strategic” in nature.In this edition of “Explaining Greece”, veteran Corinth-based journalist, correspondent and communications specialist Jean Cohen, details how once chilly official relations have evolved into a solid partnership in various areas, including defense cooperation.People-to-people exchanges, mainly through tourism and very heightened interest by Israelis in purchasing homes in Greece, and even residing in the southeast European country, are broached.On the wider political front, Cohen offers his candid views over the backlash faced by the IDF and Israeli leadership after Oct. 7 in their quest to eradicate Hamas from Gaza, referring reactions in Greece, which echoed, to a smaller extent, protests other western countries.Cohen also disuses the state of the venerable Jewish communities of Greece, including the ancient legacy of the Romaniote Jews and the once unrivaled Sephardic Jewish community of Thessaloniki – which was decimated during the Holocaust. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The second edition in 2026 of the podcast “Explaining Greece” shies away from current affairs and the geopolitical situation affecting the east Mediterranean country and, instead, focuses on a health-related issue that’s attracted a notable amount of media attention around the world of late, namely, “testosterone therapy”.This podcast edition’s guest is Dr. Giorgos Stavroulakis, a cardiologist and Ph.D. holder who is has increasingly specialized in sports cardiology over the past several years in the country. Among others, he's screened literally thousands of athletes, juveniles and adults, women and men, who compete in amateur and professional sports in Greece.Explaining his perspective and the situation with testosterone therapy in Greece, Dr. Stavroulakis weighs in on the pros and cons involved, and how the country figures in international rankings.As a specialist with years of experience in cardiology vis-à-vis athletes and sports competitions, he also touches on the highly sensitive issue of transgenderism in sports, and as a dominant factor in hormone treatment. He also discusses the prospect of perceived advantages that testosterone therapy has in athletic competition.Finally, Dr. Stavroulakis broaches the subject of whether and to what extent testosterone is linked to cancer risk, and what role it plays when, unfortunately, some forms of the disease are diagnosed. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Noted former US diplomat Brady Kiesling, an archaeologist by training and a historian with a specialty in ancient history and Mediterranean archaeology, and just as importantly, a long-time resident of Athens, is the guest today on the first 2026 edition of “Explaining Greece”.Kiesling gained international recognition back now in now far-off February 2003 when he very publicly resigned from the US State Department to protest America’s impending war with Iraq.However, diplomacy and geopolitical analysis is far from his daily routine these days, as he’ll explain, with academic pursuits revolving on his beloved disciplines taking up much of his time “in front of a PC screen”, as he half-jokingly laments.Kiesling has been instrumental in developing an application and website called ToposText, a free mobile app and website that connects the ancient Greek world's literary culture, monuments and history with its physical landscape, billed as a digital library and map for travelers, researchers, and aficionados of ancient history. He’s also on the team behind the site Digital Periegesis, which traces the places and legends of ancient Greece through the footsteps of Pausanias, a second century AD Asia Minor geographer and traveler.Along with his insight as an American expatriate living in Greece for years, Kiesling expertly touches on politics and the global situation – up until the last days of 2025 - when asked. He also candidly reflects on his high-profile resignation from the State Department in 2003 and even refers the subject of one of his books, “Greek Urban Warriors”, a detailed history of the emergence and eventual defeat of the far-leftist terrorist group “17 November”. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.